Chapter 13
LUCY
Covering my mouth, I yawn as I observe Tuxedo, an elderly Magellanic penguin, in the recovery enclosure following his cataract surgery.
It took a little longer than anticipated to complete because I administered the anesthesia slowly, due to his advanced age.
My goal is to help him improve his sight, not cause harm.
Tim will remain with the animal for the rest of his shift, which allows me to get other things accomplished.
“Hey, Dr. T.”
I look to my left and see Carolyn walking toward me. “What’s up?”
“How’d Tux do?”
“He did great,” I tell her before yawning again. “We’ll assess his vision later this afternoon, once the anesthesia wears off. Then he’ll remain separated from the others for a few days.”
“You okay?” she asks. “You seem… off.”
I force a smile. “Just tired. Didn’t sleep very well last night.”
“Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? Tim and I can handle Tux or anything else that might come up.” She grins. “And if we can’t, we have your number.”
“Thanks, but I’ve got some paperwork to catch up on.”
“Anything I can help with?”
I start to shake my head but stop myself. “Actually, yes. Follow me.”
When we reach my office, I head straight for a filing cabinet that was moved in here after Dr. Binks retired.
Most of the zoo’s veterinary records have been digitized, but he still had some that were never entered into the system.
After my unexpected visit from Zombie and Whiz, I’m starting to wonder why.
“I haven’t had a chance to sort through this cabinet yet,” I tell her. “It all needs entered into the database, but we both know how Dr. Binks was with records.”
Carolyn laughs lightly. “Yeah. He sucked.”
I grin. “He did. Which is why everything in there,” I say, pointing to the cabinet. “Needs gone through and organized. The most important thing to look for is anything pertaining to medications for the animals. I, uh, want to ensure that the digital records are accurate.”
And I want to know exactly how much medication he was giving away without anyone noticing.
She frowns. “Does all that really matter? I mean, it’s not like medications they might have been given years ago are going to impact their treatment now, right?”
“Probably not,” I admit. “But if the USDA ever sends someone from the Animal and Plant Health Service to do an inspection, any gaps in records will fall on me now that I’m the lead vet.” It’s true enough.
“Makes sense,” she says as she moves to stand in front of the cabinet and open the top drawer. “Is it okay if I go through it in here or would you prefer I take it to one of the conference rooms?”
“In here’s fine, if you have enough room. Feel free to use the floor or that table.” I nod to the round table in the corner that I sometimes utilize for meetings.
“I’ll do it in here then.” She smiles over her shoulder. “It’ll be less lonely that way.”
“Works for me.”
While she gets started on that, I sit at my desk and move my mouse around to bring my computer screen to life. I pull up the email server and type in Dr. Binks credentials. I was given access to all of that when he left.
Before I know it, two hours have passed. I rise to my feet and stretch my arms above my head.
“I’m gonna go grab some lunch,” I tell Carolyn, who’s got files spread out all over my office floor. “Need anything?”
“No, thanks. I’ll go when you get back, if that’s okay?”
“Of course.”
I was too tired to make my lunch and bring it with me, so I head to the breakroom where the vending machines are located.
Unlike the ones the public can use, these machines are set up so employees can swipe their staff ID, if they have money loaded on their spending account.
I always make sure to have at least ten dollars available, so I swipe the plastic card and make my selection.
I’m shoving the last of my Doritos into my mouth when Evan, a member of zoo security, enters the breakroom with an iPad in his hand.
“Dr. Thomas,” he greets. “Carolyn said I could find you here.”
“She was right,” I quip with a smile. “What can I do for you?”
Evan is in his early thirties, a bachelor, and regularly comes to me for advice about his own animals.
He’s also the only member of the security team who knows about my extracurricular activities because we once hooked up in the zebra habitat.
Of course, it was when we were both relatively new employees, and there was never a repeat performance.
Either way, he keeps my secret, and I provide him with free vet care for his three Great Danes.
He lifts the iPad and shows me the screen. I watch in horror as a video of me and Zombie entering the zoo plays.
“Oh, I…” I swallow past the lump taking up residence in my throat.
“Look, no judgment,” he says. “I just need to know if I should scrub this recording from the system.” Evan grins. “Can’t exactly keep your secret if I’m not kept in the loop.”
It never even crossed my mind to tell him I was here last night because it wasn’t a normal visit. In the past, if I ever came after hours, I always sent Evan a text to let him know to scrub certain time frames for specific locations from the system.
“Yeah, um…” I laugh uncomfortably. “If you can get rid of that and anything between the employee entrance to the medical wing, that’d be great. Take it from that time stamp to ten minutes out.”
“The medical wing?” he queries. “That’s a new one.”
“New kink unlocked,” I joke, hoping he buys it.
“Right. Well, consider it scrubbed.” He lowers the iPad. “Next time, don’t forget to text me. I like you, Lucy, and the animals love you. I’d hate to see you get canned over something like this when I can help prevent it.”
“Thanks, Ev,” I say, genuinely grateful. “I won’t. Promise.”
I breathe a sigh of relief when he nods and walks away, making a mental note to bring him some homemade treats for his pups. If I decide to work with Zombie and his club, I really need to be more careful.
If you decide? There’s no if about it.